1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of supply chain analysis and more specifically to estimating demand for a supply chain according to order lead time.
2. Background of the Invention
A supply chain supplies a product to a customer, and may include nodes that store inventory such as parts needed to produce the product. A known technique for maintaining a proper amount of inventory at each node may involve setting a reorder point at which inventory is reordered. For example, a node may reorder parts when its inventory is less than twenty units. Known techniques for maintaining a proper amount of inventory at each node, however, may require storage of excess inventory at the nodes and result in additional inventory carrying costs. It is generally desirable to reduce excess inventory and associated inventory carrying costs.